My boyfriend Callan can’t stand soup, unless of course it’s his mom’s butternut soup. He recently broke his jaw in a rugby game and had to get his lower jaw partly wired up for a few weeks, leaving him defenseless to my bowls of wholesome soup – well, for the first few days at least. A boy can only handle so many tubs of vanilla custard and yoghurt!
So, naturally I grabbed the opportunity to show him why I am such a soup freak! Here are some of the soups for which managed to get his approval.
Creamed potato soup with sticky maple bacon
This is like a fancy twist on meat and potatoes.
The potatoes make the soup so creamy and delicious, perfect for the sweet salty maple bacon.
The maple bacon is also delicious in winter root vegetable salads if you make more than you expected.
To make, place a pan over a medium to high heat and, when hot, fry bacon until crisp. Just before removing from the pan, toss in half the maple syrup, allowing it to coat the bacon and bubble briefly.
Transfer to a baking tray, drizzle over the remaining syrup and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or until almost caramelised.
Creamed porcini soup topped with panfried mushroom
We love mushrooms, all kinds of mushrooms, so this one is always a winner!
This recipe uses fresh porcinis making it a show stopping dinner party starter but, let’s face it, that can become very expensive for a weekday meal.
We often take advantage of the Woolworths saving deals where we buy any two punnets of mushrooms at a discounted price.
It’s nice to mix up the variety of mushrooms you use for different flavours and textures. Keep a watch out for those specials.
Classic pea and ham soup
My grandfather, Gaga, makes a pea and ham soup that is just out of this world, I think it’s because it takes him the better half of the day to do it!
Abigail shared this with our TASTE readers a few years back and I still make it at the beginning of every winter.
You can also try the healthy pea and ham soup or, if you are up for something a little different, the modern pea and ham soup made with black pudding.
Red lentil and chilli broth
Callan isn’t a huge fan of chilli so he didn’t give this soup a try, but it has to be the best lentil soup I have ever, ever, ever had.
It has enough spice to give it a robust body and flavour but because of its broth-like consistency, it’s wonderfully light.
I also love the delicious spicy simplicity of a classic lentil and bean soup. I like to add chopped fried chorizo to it and a dollop of slightly sour crème fraîche
ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
Callan is on the mend and now happily bites into big beefy burgers with relish, so sadly, for the next month or so, soups are not allowed to feature in our kitchen.
But I still have left over containers stacked up in the freezer, perfect to fit into a bowl for one!
Love,
Hannah
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